Students will independently determine the resistivity of an unknown material (Play-Doh) using common electrical equipment available in the lab. Students have been introduced to Ohm’s Law and the Resistance of a Resistor formulas previously, and have had a very brief introduction to building electrical circuits from a schematic from the “Resistivity” Lab. Students have also used ammeters and voltmeters in the resistivity lab, though all the equipment is still quite unfamiliar.
The goal of this activity is to reinforce Ohm’s Law and the resistance equation in a practical sense, while guiding the students to develop their own experimental procedure and analysis in an inquiry-based format. The added challenge of students working with circuit schematics to design and build their own circuits will also provide them a head start into our next activities, focused on series and parallel circuit analysis.
Objectives: CIR.A2 I can utilize Ohm’s Law to solve for current, voltage, and resistance.
CIR.A3 I can calculate the resistance of a conductor
CIR.B3 I can use voltmeters and ammeters effectively
Materials: Play-Doh
Ammeter
Voltmeter
DC Power Supply
Connecting Wires

File Name: Inquiry Lab - Resistivity of Play-Doh File Submitter: FizziksGuy File Submitted: 27 Feb 2014 File Category: Electricity
Students will independently determine the resistivity of an unknown material (Play-Doh) using common electrical equipment available in the lab. Students have been introduced to Ohm’s Law and the Resistance of a Resistor formulas previously, and have had a very brief introduction to building electrical circuits from a schematic from the “Resistivity” Lab. Students have also used ammeters and voltmeters in the resistivity lab, though all the equipment is still quite unfamiliar.
The goal of this activity is to reinforce Ohm’s Law and the resistance equation in a practical sense, while guiding the students to develop their own experimental procedure and analysis in an inquiry-based format. The added challenge of students working with circuit schematics to design and build their own circuits will also provide them a head start into our next activities, focused on series and parallel circuit analysis.
Objectives: CIR.A2 I can utilize Ohm’s Law to solve for current, voltage, and resistance.
CIR.A3 I can calculate the resistance of a conductor
CIR.B3 I can use voltmeters and ammeters effectively
Materials: Play-Doh
Ammeter
Voltmeter
DC Power Supply
Connecting Wires

Overview: Basic introduction to Ohm's Law lab in which students utilize a voltage source, an ammeter, and varying resistors to determine the resistance of each resistor. Calculated (empirical) resistance is then compared to the printed resistance, illustrating the variation in electrical components.
Materials:
Voltage source
Switch
Ammeter
5, 10, 20-ohm resistors
connecting wires

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